In a speech to members of the American Jewish community on Tuesday, White House chief of ctaff Rahm Emanuel didn’t back down from the Obama administration’s call for Israel to freeze its settlement activity — one of the thorniest issues in the Middle East peace talks.

“I know that some in the Jewish community believe we have singled out Israel for criticism as it relates to settlements,” Emanuel said. “The fact is, the administration’s position is consistent with the positions of previous administrations and with the previous commitments of the Israeli government under the road map.”

But Emanuel said that negotiations to forge a “lasting peace between Israel, the Palestinians and the Arab world” would have to proceed “without preconditions,” indicating that the administration is willing to begin talks before Israel brings an end to its construction of settlements in the West Bank and Jerusalem.

Speaking at the annual meeting of the Jewish Federations of North America in Washington, Emanuel was a stand-in for President Barack Obama, who was scheduled to address the group but canceled in order to attend memorial services for the victims of the shootings in Fort Hood, Texas.

In his remarks, the president’s top aide referred to America as Israel’s “one true friend” on the path to achieving peace. Emanuel also rejected the notion that the administration’s efforts to open up dialogue with “Israel’s neighbors and with Muslim nations around the world” implied diminished support for Israel.

“As the president has said many times — as the president said in Cairo, Egypt — the bond between the United States and Israel is unbreakable,” he said. “It is a bond rooted in shared interests and shared values.”

Still, Emanuel’s assurances come at a precarious time for U.S.-Israeli relations. The Obama administration’s efforts to facilitate peace talks have been frustrated in part by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s refusal to halt settlement expansion or to agree to a Palestinian state drawn up based on 1967 borders. On Monday, Obama held a meeting with Netanyahu, who had traveled to Washington to address the Jewish group.

Meanwhile, with peace negotiations stalled, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is reportedly considering resigning, creating uncertainty about the future of the Palestinian Authority.

At Tuesday’s conference, Emanuel’s plea for Palestinians to “recognize Israel’s right to exist and reject the incitement of violence against Israeli citizens” drew the loudest applause from the crowd of several hundred Jewish Americans from around the country.

Still, Jewish Federations of North America trustee Alan Solow, who also spoke on Tuesday, noted that members of his community had “differing views on the strategy and tactics” being employed in the Middle East peace process.

Emanuel ticked off a list of the president’s accomplishments — both foreign and domestic — and restated the administration’s commitment to building “international consensus against a nuclear-armed Iran.”

He also touted his own Jewish roots — his father was born in Jerusalem — and mentioned that he planned to travel to Israel next year for the bar mitzvahs of his son and nephew.

But his main message focused on the urgency of restarting negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, saying that for both countries and the United States, this may be “the last best chance to achieve the dream” of peace in the Middle East.

“Perhaps more than at any other time since Israel’s inception, we have a president of the United States who is in a position to bridge divides that have proven for decades to be very treacherous to traverse,” he said. “This is a critical time for all who seek the elusive goal of two states living side by side in peace and security.”